Shanghai Daily news

Plans to combat terrorism at the Shanghai Expo will form part of the public security effort, organizers told the Fourth Expo Legal Forum at the Shanghai International Convention Center yesterday.

Shanghai's anti-terrorism information network will help organizers to work out ways to prevent or cope with any terrorism activities, including bombing, kidnapping and other attacks, during the six-month event, Wu Yan'an, deputy director of Shanghai Public Security Bureau, said at the forum.

Other security matters discussed by experts, lawyers and Expo officials included VIP reception, crowd control, information security and food safety.

Zhou Hanmin, deputy director general of the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination, told the forum that a sizeable proportion of the 10.8-billion-yuan (US$1.46 billion) budget for Expo, was earmarked for public security.

Controlling the crowds and avoiding accidents will be a major task on the Expo site, organizers said.

They plan to use media such as radio, TV and mobile phones to keep the public informed about visitor flow in the Expo site and important cultural performances will be arranged so that people are not concentrated in the same area, said Zhou.

If any serious emergencies occur, the organizers will consider shutting down the pavilions, even the Expo site, said Zhou.

"The legal, organizational and operational aspects of security are carried out in the background. But this work is definitely the most important," said Vicente Loscertales, secretary general of the International Expositions Bureau, in his congratulatory letter to the forum.

"Security is at the core of an Expo. The BIE and the organizers have the responsibility to anticipate the threats and to enact all of the measures that will guarantee the protection of the participants and the visitors."

The last three annual Expo legal forums talked about intellectual protection rights, marketing and operational matters during the Shanghai Expo.

The annual forum was organized by the Expo Bureau and the Shanghai Law Society.